Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41746054›Full record

ArticleVaccines2026

Health Worker Influenza Vaccination Programs: A Key to Pandemic Preparedness and Effective COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Margaret McCarron, Chelsey Griffin, Tat S Yau, Julie Garon Carlton, Jaymin C Patel, Claire B Hugo, Carsten Mantel, Lindsay B Saber, Shoshanna Goldin, Ann Moen and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Vaccines, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Margaret McCarronNational Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5826-1014
Chelsey GriffinNational Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6588-4685
Tat S YauNational Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.ORCID 0009-0007-4580-2698
Julie Garon CarltonGlobal Health Center, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-9816-9645
Jaymin C PatelGlobal Health Center, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
Claire B HugoMMGH Consulting, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland.
Carsten MantelMMGH Consulting, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID 0009-0005-1527-3065
Lindsay B SaberTask Force for Global Health, Decatur, GA 30030, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6544-0387
Shoshanna GoldinDoctoral Program in Public Health (DrPH), Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8116-7010
Ann MoenTask Force for Global Health, Decatur, GA 30030, USA.
Kathryn E LafondNational Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA.
Jenny A WalldorfGlobal Health Center, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6337-3512
Terri HydeGlobal Health Center, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4079-0380
Joseph Sewell BreseeTask Force for Global Health, Decatur, GA 30030, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND/

objectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic presented an urgent global need to quickly vaccinate health workers (HWs). We used this unique circumstance to assess whether mature influenza vaccination programs for HWs facilitated rapid deployment of COVID-19 vaccines in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

methodsWe used publicly available population-level COVID-19 vaccination coverage data from the World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 PowerBI Dashboard for 60 LMICs to investigate general population coverage with the COVID-19 vaccine over the first year of vaccine rollout. We also evaluated country-level policy and program data reported to the WHO-United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) electronic Joint Reporting Form (eJRF) in 2022 or earlier to determine if the presence of a mature (≥2 years of influenza vaccine introduction in HWs prior to 2019) HW influenza vaccination program was associated with more rapid COVID-19 vaccine deployment and/or pandemic preparedness. We used a mixed-effects beta regression model to investigate whether having a mature HW influenza vaccination program was associated with COVID-19 vaccination coverage levels and/or deployment timeliness. Finally, to provide a better understanding of the possible relationship between the presence of a mature HW influenza vaccination program and the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, we analyzed interview data collected during COVID-19 vaccine post-introduction evaluations (cPIEs).

resultsTwenty-four of our study countries (40%) had mature HW influenza vaccination programs prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 16 (27%) participated in cPIEs. The overall adjusted mean general-population COVID-19 vaccination coverage at 12 months post-deployment in countries with mature HW influenza vaccination programs was 46% (95% CI: (35%, 56%)), compared with 25% (95% CI: (19%, 32%)) in countries without such programs. Vaccination coverage was 2.5 times higher in countries with mature programs (adjusted odds ratio 2.5, 95% CI: (1.5, 4.5);

conclusionsOur analysis suggests that mature influenza vaccination programs for HWs were associated with timelier and more complete COVID-19 vaccination rollout.

Indexed as

COVID-19health workersinfluenzapandemic preparednessvaccine

Identifiers

PMID41746054
PMCPMC12945195

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.